DubbingMate
How to Watch Japanese YouTube Videos with English Audio
Japanese vlogs, game streams, anime reviews, cooking videos and lectures are often posted on YouTube with Japanese speech only. This guide covers three ways to follow them in English: reading translated captions, using a dubbed track when a video has one, and listening to English speech generated from the captions.
1. Free: YouTube's auto-translated captions
- Open the video and click the CC button to turn captions on.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate.
- Choose English.
This costs nothing, but you have to read. Your eyes leave the picture, fast lines can vanish before you finish them, and it is awkward when your hands or eyes are busy (cooking, exercising, looking at slides or a demo).
2. YouTube's own auto-dubbed audio
Some videos offer extra audio tracks. If a video has one, open Settings → Audio track and pick English. This exists for some videos only, so you cannot count on it for a given Japanese video.
3. Listening with DubbingMate
DubbingMate is a desktop app for Windows and Mac. It reads a video's captions out loud in English while the video keeps playing.
- Install DubbingMate and open a YouTube video that has captions.
- Press the dub button. For a Japanese video, DubbingMate takes the Japanese captions (auto-generated ones work), uses YouTube's auto-translation to get English text, and speaks it.
- Captions required. A video with no captions cannot be dubbed.
- First run. The app downloads a voice model the first time you dub, so the first sound can take about 1–2 minutes.
- Trial and price. Everything is free for 72 hours counted from your first dub, then it is a one-time purchase with no subscription. See the pricing section for the current price.
Which Japanese videos work well
| Video type | Best option |
|---|---|
| Vlog | DubbingMate works well when the speaker talks and captions exist. Translated captions are enough if you can watch the screen. |
| Game stream or gameplay video | Fast chatter can outrun translated captions while you watch the game. DubbingMate helps if captions exist; check for an auto-dubbed track first. |
| Anime review or commentary | DubbingMate fits commentary with captions. Clips with original anime voices or songs are not a good fit, since the app reads captions aloud over them. |
| Cooking video | Listening is handy because your eyes and hands are busy. Use DubbingMate if captions exist, otherwise try the audio track menu. |
| Lecture or tutorial | Works well with clear captions. For slides or code on screen, listening lets you keep looking at the material. |
| No captions at all | Cannot be dubbed by DubbingMate. Check whether the video has an auto-dubbed audio track. |
FAQ
Can I get English audio on a Japanese video that has no captions?
Not with DubbingMate, which works from captions. Some videos have an auto-dubbed audio track, so check the Audio track menu.
Is the English translation perfect?
No. The English comes from YouTube's automatic translation of the Japanese captions, so mistakes in the captions or the translation carry through to the speech.
Do I need to pay to try it?
No. All features are free for 72 hours from your first dub; installing alone does not start the clock. After that it is a one-time purchase, see pricing.
Does DubbingMate work on any Japanese video that has captions?
It works from the captions YouTube provides, including auto-generated ones. Quality depends on how accurate those captions and the automatic translation are.
Related: How to Watch Korean YouTube Videos with English Audio